


all them seven wonders (they can't compare to you)

by OfTheDirewolves



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alice Quinn & Eliot Waugh Friendship, Alternate Universe - No Beast, Costume Party, Eliot Waugh is Extra, Fairy Godmother Margo Hanson, Happy Birthday Eliot Waugh, M/M, pining boys, pop-culture references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 10:42:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfTheDirewolves/pseuds/OfTheDirewolves
Summary: It's Eliot's Birthday...Quentin wants to make sure he gets him the perfect gift, Eliot needs the perfect costume and Margo just hopes they finally get their heads out of their ass.Written for Eliot Waugh's Birthday!





	all them seven wonders (they can't compare to you)

**Author's Note:**

> So the lovely @portraitofemmy & @propinquitous created this lovely event to celebrate the birthday of our Spectacular King, Eliot Waugh.
> 
> And of course, I had to jump at the chance to celebrate my darling brave boy.
> 
> I love that Scorpio disaster of a man and I like that I get to post this on his birthday (Oct 30)
> 
> (Thanks again to my wonderful Kate who makes sure my work is good)  
(Title from Seven Wonders from Catch Me If You Can: The Musical)

* * *

* * *

Quentin is in his room, supposedly working on his schoolwork but honestly, he’s just lost in thought. 

To say Quentin’s life has dramatically changed in a few months would be an understatement. First, he found out that not only is magic real but that he’s a magician, then he actually got invited into magic school. He’s literally studying to be a magician. If you’d told him that a year ago he would have thought you were crazy. 

But it’s true. 

Sure magic didn’t fix everything in his life. He still has depression and anxiety, although he’s on a regimen of meds and potions that make him feel like an actual person so he’s doing well in that regard. He’s not perfect — he doubts he’ll ever be perfect — but it’s good enough. Which is more than he could say a few months ago when he checked himself into the hospital. 

The second reason his life has taken an insane turn is Eliot Waugh.

He met Eliot when he was late for his entrance exam and promptly made a fool of himself. Then he was accepted into Brakebills University and that was wild enough. He honestly didn’t think he’d see the older student ever again. But Eliot surprised him. He had gone looking for him and introduced him to his other half — the terrifying and wonderful Margo Hanson. And suddenly Quentin had two new friends.

And even though at first glance they were wildly different from Quentin himself, they seemed to accept Quentin from the start. Quentin doesn’t think he’d ever had that before. He loved Julia, he did. But there was a lot about him that Julia didn’t accept or that she actively tried to change. Eliot and Margo didn’t do that. 

They had parties all the time, they were social butterflies. But they didn’t mind Quentin being in a corner with a book. Or Eliot, in particular, would take time off from hosting to just sit with Q, and it was nice_ . It was really nice _. Eliot seemed to like him from the start, which Quentin did not fully understand. Mostly because he was used to people not liking him. 

But Eliot did.

Which of course had made Quentin get a big fat crush on him. 

Typical. Just Typical.

He’d gone down this route before with Julia and it had not ended well. Both he and Julia had been accepted into Brakebills but they ran in different circles. She was usually with the knowledge kids or with her friend Kady. 

Quentin, on the other hand, was either with Eliot and Margo or with Alice Quinn, another first-year student. After a bit of a rough start, they had quickly bonded. Mostly because one of their teachers was an asshole and made them do a project together as punishment. Hatred of a teacher is always a good bonding experience. It helped that she was as awkward as he was. Which kind of amused him. 

He learned two things that day:  


  1. Alice Quinn is probably the smartest person in the school.
  2. She is so much cooler than him.

Alice is honestly a badass and Quentin is always going to be glad she decided to be his friend. So Quentin went from having 2 sort of friends (Julia and James) at the beginning of the year, to having 4 additional friends — if you counted Penny. 

Penny was Quentin’s first roommate, from before they got their disciplines. He might complain a lot about Quentin but Quentin know Penny likes him. And Penny doesn’t like very many people. 

So far the list seems to include Kady, Quentin, and Alice. Eliot, Margo, and Julia are more in the “I tolerate you” list. 

Eliot found it endlessly amusing. So that meant he always trying to get Penny to admit that he liked him, or he would make some sort of joke about it.

At first, Quentin was jealous until he realized Eliot did it to get a rise out of Penny. And because he wanted Penny to like him because he was _ Quentin’s _friend. Eliot had admitted it once and Quentin had been floored. He couldn’t believe Eliot had been making the effort to be friends with Quentin’s friends.

Especially since Eliot isn’t one for caring about people outside of his orbit. 

Has Quentin mentioned that he is a goner when it comes to Eliot Waugh? Because he is. 

The problem is that he’s not sure that Eliot feels the same way. There’s a part of him that thinks that maybe he does — after all Eliot does seek him out a lot. And he definitely seems like he looks for excuses to touch Quentin. But then his brain will remind him that Eliot is like that with both Margo and Alice as well. 

Eliot is a very tactile person when he cares about you. 

So it doesn’t clear up any confusion for Quentin. 

And then the darker sides of his mind will remind him that Eliot is miles outside of his league. And why would he be interested in Quentin when he could have literally anyone in Brakebills? 

He tries not to pay attention to that side of his brain. But sometimes it’s hard. 

Quentin sometimes wishes he was braver, or at least more assertive.

Like Margo. 

Okay, maybe not exactly like Margo because although he loves her deeply, she terrifies him at times. 

Especially around Welters season. 

No one wants to be around Margo during Welters Season. She’s competitive, to say the least, so it’s better not to get in her way. <strike> As Todd learned earlier this year. </strike>

But the point is that Margo knows what she wants and she goes for it. She wanted Alice and she flirted with her until Alice clued in. 

(Alice is as clueless as Quentin is in these matters. So it took a bit of gentle needling for her to realize that Margo was 100% serious. They have now been dating for two months.)

Quentin wishes he could do that. Wishes he could just go up to Eliot and admit his feelings. 

But Eliot is his best friend. He’s the best friend Quentin has ever had. 

<strike>Sorry, Julia.</strike>

Which means that Quentin is terrified of losing that. What if Eliot isn’t interested and Quentin has just ruined one of the best things in his life? No, it’s better just to pine at a distance. That was the way things had gone for months so why rock the boat right?  
  
That didn’t mean it didn’t make him jealous to see guys disappearing into Eliot’s room. 

Although that hadn’t been happening as much lately, Eliot was probably busy.

And then there’s a knock on his door that pulls him out of his thoughts.

“Hey Q, did you finish the paper for Sunderland?” Alice asks from her place at the door.

“I have half of it so far — not sure if it’s any good though,” Quentin admits as she comes in and sits down on the bed next to him. Alice doesn’t even ask before taking his computer and reading what he has so far. 

“Okay it’s not bad, your analogies are good it’s just some of the details are off… For that spell you’d need a Popper 5, not Popper 12,” Alice says.  
  
“Shit you’re right,” Quentin says, fixing his notes, “what would I do without you?”

“Possibly fail out.”

“And then I’d be forced to forget everything,” Quentin says, that was one of the downsides to Brakebills. You had to do well or you’d flunk out. Flunking out meant that they took your memories of magic and Brakebills. Which was bullshit if you asked him but it was enough of a warning to do well.

“Oh please — as if Eliot would let that happen,” Alice remarks. 

“Don’t start,” Quentin mutters, Alice has this idea that Eliot has feelings for Quentin. Quentin is never quite sure what to think of that.

Alice just looks at him but sighs.

“Fine, but even if you don’t believe me about his feelings, you know he’d still do that for you because he’s your friend,” Alice points out.

“Yeah he would,” Quentin says with a smile.

“So what are you going to wear for the party?” Alice asks and Quentin actually groans.

Eliot’s birthday is in a few days, on Halloween actually, so he’s throwing a massive Halloween party. And Quentin has no idea what he’s going to dress up as.

He knows everyone expects him to go as someone from Fillory but that doesn’t feel right. 

“I have no fucking clue.”

He doesn’t even have a gift yet. 

Mostly because he’s been looking for the perfect gift and can’t find it yet.

It has to be something as special as Eliot himself.

“Please tell me you’re not thinking of going as one of the Chatwins,” Alice says and Quentin laughs.

“No, that doesn’t feel right,” Quentin admits, “What are you going as?”

“I don’t know yet but Margo and I are going into the city to see if anything comes to mind, want to join?” Alice asks.

“Is it only going to be you and Margo? I don’t want to infringe on your couple time.”

“More like you don’t want to be a third wheel?” 

“That too,” Quentin says sheepishly.

Alice smiles at him knowingly, “Charlie is going to be driving us so it’s not just going to be me and Margo. Plus Margo has her costume already — even if she won’t tell me what it is.”

“I tried asking Eliot what he was going to wear and he just smiled at me and went it’s a surprise Q, if I told you it would ruin the surprise,” Quentin says mimicking Eliot’s voice, it’s terrible but it makes Alice laugh.

“It will be fun I promise,” Alice says and Quentin caves. 

He’s so weak for his friends — it’s embarrassing. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“Fine,” Quentin relents.

“That was easy — I didn’t even have to bring out the puppy eyes,” Alice jokes.

“You’re hanging out with Margo way too much,” Quentin mutters, but he’s happy for Alice. 

“There’s no such thing Coldwater,” Margo says appearing at the door, “So are you ready to go?”  
  
“Now?” Quentin asks.

“No, tomorrow, yes now! Eliot is busy with something so it’s the perfect time to get away,” Margo points out.  
  
“Plus we have plans to eat and pick up a few things,” Alice says.

“Yeah I’m helping my girl pick out a present,” Margo says.  
  
“Give me 5 minutes to put everything away and I’ll go down,” Quentin mentions.

“Okay fine but you’ve got 5 minutes Quentin — otherwise I’m dragging you out of here no matter what state you’re in,” Margo threatens and Quentin knows with absolute certainty that she means it. 

Margo and Alice leave the room and Quentin sighs. He puts away his computer and puts his notes on the desk. Then he goes to his closet and grabs his messenger bag. Making sure that his wallet is in there.

Shopping is most definitely not his favorite thing, but he does need to buy Eliot’s present. So hopefully something will inspire him. 

He just wants his gift to be perfect. 

Eliot has done a lot for him in the last few months, and it’s the least he can do to return the favor. 

* * *

Quentin regrets every single one of his life choices at this very moment. 

But the biggest one is being friends with Margo Hanson and Alice Quinn.

Margo took them to a lesser-known store, apparently, it’s a seasonal boutique or something. It belongs to a friend of hers. So that means they’re the only ones there. It’s been two hours of Margo non-stop pestering him over different costumes. Nothing he tries on is good enough for her. And if she doesn’t have a complaint, then Alice does. 

Charlie just mostly laughs at him from the background. 

His friends are truly the worst. 

It had taken Alice precisely five minutes to pick out her costume. She is going to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All she needed was a pair of leather pants and a red shirt (both of which she already owned). Alice’s wardrobe had changed since she’d started dating Margo. Rather than nun dresses, She started wearing more pants and cute dresses. 

All Alice had bought was a wooden stake — that was it. 

Which makes Quentin believe this was a plot to get _ him _out of Brakebills and into a dressing room. 

And suddenly it all makes sense. 

“You always had your costume didn’t you?” Quentin asks.

“I didn’t completely lie — I needed to buy a stake,” Alice admits.

“I can’t believe you two tricked me,” Quentin mutters. 

Except for the fact that he totally can believe it. What he can’t believe is that he didn’t see through it earlier.

“I have to say Q, you’re losing your touch,” Margo teases.

“I’ve been distracted,” Quentin says trying to defend himself.

“Daydreaming about a certain someone?” Margo asks knowingly but all Quentin does is glare at her.

“Why am I the only one being tortured like this?” Quentin wonders.

“Because I trust the rest to wear good costumes — or at least adequate ones,” Margo points out.

“I can dress myself,” Quentin says.

“That’s debatable darling,” Margo responds giving him a kiss on the cheek and then hands him a Captain Kirk costume, “Now get your cute ass back into that dressing room.”

He does as he is told — because he’s not one to deny Margo.

Quentin might not always make the right decisions_ but he’s not stupid. _

He knows that things are better when Margo gets her way. 

And so he tries on the Captain Kirk costume — it looks good but it’s not really him? 

As much as he loves Jim Kirk (and the countless fanfiction he’s written about him and Bones proves that he _ really really does) _he doesn’t think that it works. 

“Quentin come out of the closet!” Margo says.

And so he comes out and Margo looks very amused at her joke.

“Hilarious — I’ve never heard that one before,” Quentin remarks. 

“Damn Q, you look great,” Margo says, “but I need you to twirl for me — I need to see the full thing.”  
  
Quentin does as asked and then smirks at her.  
  
“As good as you look I don’t think this is it,” Margo says crossing her arms and looking at the Quinn siblings, “what do you think?”  


“I mean if we’re talking Star Trek I feel like Quentin would be more of an engineer,” Charlie points out and Quentin can’t help but agree. 

“I’m surrounded by nerds,” Margo mutters. 

“She says as if she isn’t one,” Quentin remarks smirking at her.

“Oh I’m totally a cool nerd,” Margo says and Alice snorts, “Wow I see how it is.”

“You’re right darling — you’re totally cool,” Alice says appeasing her girlfriend.

“Thank you,” Margo responds and then turns to Charlie, “Your right Charles but let’s face it no one wants to fuck Scotty.” 

“Oh is that the end goal here?” Quentin asks.

“Darling you haven’t gotten laid since you broke up with what’s his name?” Margo says looking at Alice, “The sexy illusionist?” 

“Gabriel?” Quentin wonders. 

“Yes, that one! He was really cute,” Margo says reminiscing, “What ever happened with him?” 

“We weren’t fully dating, we just hooked up after Push games,” Quentin points out. 

And they had both been in a similar situation, in terms of having feelings for someone else. So it had been an arrangement that worked wonders for them.

He wasn’t above admitting he was also trying to make Eliot jealous — but it hadn’t worked. Eliot had barely paid attention. 

“Even so that was months ago — you need to get laid,” Margo says.

Quentin just shrugs, there’s only one person he’s currently interested in having sex with. But he can’t exactly say that. Margo would never let him live it down. 

“Whatever you say, Margo,” Quentin answers.

“So Star Trek is a no, Harry Potter is predictable and boring, we’re magicians we need a bit more originality than that,” Margo says, “we don’t want anything that covers your face so that takes most superheroes — what am I missing? I’m missing something.”

  
And it’s at that moment that Quentin sees it. 

The perfect costume — and it would definitely fit all of Margo’s necessary qualifications. 

“I’ve got it,” Quentin says.  
“What is it?” Margo wonders.

“Trust me,” Quentin says and he goes back into the dressing room to change out of the Kirk costume. Then he comes out of the dressing room and heads to where he saw the costume and grabs it, not showing it to Margo, because he does like torturing her from time to time. 

“You’re a brat Q,” Margo calls out.

“You love it!” Quentin responds and Margo laughs before turning to Alice and nodding.

“I do.” 

That’s the moment that Quentin decides to come out of the dressing room dressed in his new costume and with a smirk on his face.

All three of them look shocked and Margo has a delighted smile on her face when she sees him.

“What do you think?” Quentin asks cheekily.

“That’s it — that’s the one,” Margo says.

“I thought you’d agree,” Quentin remarks.

“You look really good Q,” Alice says.

“Thanks,” Quentin says with a slight blush. 

“Okay get changed so we can do pay for this,” Margo says as Quentin smiles at her and goes back into the dressing room, thankfully for the last time. 

To be honest — as much as he complains — he’s actually had fun today. It definitely beats out working on homework from his room and stressing out about things out of his control. This is part of why he loves Margo so much, she knows how to get him out of his comfort zone while still respecting the way he is.

He comes back out of the room with the costume in his hands and heads to the cash register to pay for it himself but Margo doesn’t let him.

“Oh no — this is my treat,” Margo says. 

“Margo,” Quentin says softly.  
“I want to buy it for you and it’s going to end up being a double win for me,” Margo says cryptically.

“What are you plotting?” Quentin asks slightly exasperated, Margo’s plans have a tendency to blow up in Quentin’s face.

“Who says I’m plotting anything?”  
“You have your plotting face on.”

“Plotting face?” Margo repeats.  
“Oh you know what I mean — you always use that face when you’re planning something.”

“I have no idea what you might be referring to,” Margo says with faux innocence.

“Sure you don’t,” Quentin says but relents and lets Margo pay, “Either way I can’t stop you.”  
“You’re pretty and you’re smart,” Margo smirks.  
“More like I know to pick my battles,” Quentin comments grabbing the bag with the costume as Margo hooks their arms together. 

Margo thanks the sales girl and turns to Quentin.

“Now for the next stop in our agenda,” Margo says as all four of them made it out of the store.

“Do I want to know?” Quentin asks.

“Oh please — you’re going to like it.” 

Quentin just groans in response and he hears Alice actually laugh behind him.

Traitor.

* * *

It turns out that the next stop was helping Alice buy a gift for Eliot. For all of Alce’s talents — gift-giving was not one of them.

Charlie regaled them all with stories of terrible gifts from years past. Alice tried hard but her gifts usually felt slightly short. Charlie said she’d inherited it directly from their father. 

Which is why she’d asked for Margo’s help. She wants to give her best friend a good gift. She wants Eliot to like her.

Quentin tried telling her that Eliot already liked her but she is stubborn. Quentin knows his best friend. It didn’t matter if the gift was crap or not his style — if he knew Alice worked hard on it? He’d love it. 

Eliot was always touched when people went the extra mile for him. Mostly because he never actually expected it. 

And he’d admitted to Quentin one night that he actually really liked Alice, sharp edges and all. And he thought she is good for Margo, she keeps her grounded. Which is something Eliot would always be thankful about. 

So Quentin knows that in terms of Eliot liking her? Alice has nothing to worry about. 

But if anyone gets what anxiety does to you — it’s Quentin Coldwater. 

“Babe — he’s going to like whatever you get him,” Margo says giving word to Quentin’s thoughts. 

“He’s your best friend — I can’t just give him just anything,” Alice responds.

“You don’t want to give him clothes — why not something he can use,” Quentin suggests.

  
“Normally gifts are meant to be used Quentin,” Alice says.

“I mean something he’s actually going to use, not just say he will,” Quentin remarks.

“What do you suggest?” 

“Eliot is very proud of his skills as a bartender and as a cook. He loves showing those off. So you know that anything you give him along those lines would work,” Quentin says trying to give her an idea, but he knows Alice if she doesn’t realize it on her own it’s going to bother her. 

Quentin ignores Margo’s look — sometimes it seems like she can look into his soul.

Alice looks pensive and then heads towards a certain section of the store. When the other three catch up with her she seems to be arguing with a salesperson. Then he seems to give up and just relents to whatever she’s asking.

Margo turns to her girlfriend, “What was that about?” 

“I’ve got the gift,” Alice says proudly.

“What are you getting?” Charlie asks

“An Expert Cocktail Set, it includes 14 instruments for making drinks and I got Jake to agree to engrave Eliot’s initials on everything. Oh, and it includes a Bamboo stand for it and comes in a box that will have Eliot’s name on it,” Alice says. 

“I think he’s really going to like that sweetheart,” Margo says softly looking at Q and smiling, “And it goes really well with my gift which is a flask that never runs out.”

“That’s amazing,” Alice says smiling at her girlfriend as she pays for the gift. 

Quentin thinks that Jake probably just wants them to get out of his store, and well he gets that. 

His girls are scary when they want to be.

“That’s two things down and one to go,” Margo says.

“Wait what’s left?” Quentin asks confused.

“We’re going to bow out — see you both back at Brakebills,” Charlie says as he and Alice leave. 

Which makes Quentin even more confused. 

“Do you trust me Q?” Margo asks.

“Most of the time?” Quentin responds but Margo smiles, one of her wicked smiles.

“That’s good enough for me,” Margo says and leads him out of the store. 

* * *

The last stop on the agenda was apparently a hair salon. Margo walks in like she owns the place while Quentin trails after her. 

He is feeling slightly bamboozled by all of this. 

“Margo, what is this?” Quentin asks, finally getting up the nerve. 

“It’s makeover time,” Margo says.

“Margo,” Quentin says uncertainly, running a hand through his hair. 

“Look if you don’t want a haircut, then we won’t get you a haircut. The important thing is that you’re comfortable after all. I mean it’s your hair, not mine,” Margo says.

“But?” 

“No buts Q,” Margo says putting her arms around him, “I think you’d benefit from one and we can keep the front of your hair slightly longer so you can still hide whenever you’d like. But if it doesn’t feel right for you then we won’t do that — we’ll just do the treatment.”

“Treatment?”

“I’m getting it too — it makes your hair healthier,” Margo points out.

“It’s not going to be all of it right?” Quentin asks.

“Just a trim — something that will show off your face more, and yet still have enough length that you can hide if you’d like… even if I wish you’d stop hiding because we all love all of you Q, even the parts you don’t always like.”

Quentin doesn’t know what to say to that. What does one say to that?

“I’ll do it,” Quentin says.

“You won’t regret it — and it might end up working in your favor,” Margo smirks.

“There you go being cryptic again — why won’t you just tell me?” 

“What would be the fun in that?” Margo says as she hands him a black robe for him to put on above his clothes.

Quentin has never actually gotten a fancy haircut or anything really so this will definitely be a new experience to add to the list.

* * *

Eliot Waugh prided himself on many things. His sense of style, his skills in the kitchen, the bar and the bedroom and his impeccable parties. 

It’s the last one he was currently struggling with. 

Eliot’s birthday falls on October 30th so obviously he tells everyone it was on the 31st so he could have an eternal excuse for Halloween parties. He’s very committed to the aesthetic. 

This has to be the best one yet. 

Which means everything had to be perfect. From the decorations, the music, the food and especially the costume. He needs a perfect costume.

He needs to look like a fantasy come to life <strike> for no particular reason. </strike>

But the thing is that he couldn’t come up with a costume that is good enough. Even though he’d told Margo that he already had his costume. Which was a big fat lie. The truth was that he didn’t want to admit to Margo that he was having trouble picking a costume because he wanted Quentin to like it.

She would never let him forget it.

Quentin is his best friend. That is all. Just like Margo is his best friend. 

<strike> Except that he doesn’t daydream about kissing Margo. </strike>

Okay so he might have a tiny crush on the nerd but who can truly blame him? Quentin is a high-strung super-nerd —_ he loves those. _ And he is so passionate about what he likes, Eliot could listen to him rant about the things he loved forever and still be happy. Quentin is such a brat and an asshole and it makes him all the more attractive. He always blushes when Eliot compliments him and he is there for his friends when they need him. Eliot finds that admirable.

That is all.

Nothing more to it.

Not at all.

And wanting the perfect costume is not to impress Quentin Coldwater. He just wants him to like it because they were friends. Just friends. 

Maybe he should just dress up as Will Turner at least that way he would be coordinated with Margo’s Elizabeth Swann costume. But that doesn’t feel right either. 

But speaking of hot pirates in film — there’s one that he could totally pull off and wouldn’t be hard to create. 

He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought about it before considering it’s one of his favorite movies.

This is going to be truly spectacular. 

* * *

It had been about three or four hours since they came into the salon, frankly, Quentin has lost count. 

But it seems like they are finally finished. 

Good thing because his butt is slightly numb. 

“I need you to stand up for me for a moment,” Leah, the woman cutting his hair says, and Quentin does as asked. Then she trims a bit more and smiles, “There — all done.”

Quentin turns around and _ shit _ he looks good. And just like Margo said, the bangs are large enough that he could hide if he needed to hide but the back was slightly shorter than it used to be, 

“So what do you think?” Leah asks

“I really like it, thank you,” Quentin says with a smile.  
“It was my pleasure.” 

That’s when Quentin hears a shriek and suddenly Margo is behind him smiling. 

“You look smoking hot Q,” Margo says.

“I do don’t I?” Quentin responds, feeling strangely confident. 

Funny what things like a change of look can do to your confidence levels. 

“Damn right, El’s not going to know what hit him,” Margo smirks.

“Margo,” Quentin says looking at her.

“Or anyone else — the point is that you’re going to be a hit at the party,” Margo points out. 

“You think so?” 

“I know so — with your slightly updated look and your killer costume… if someone doesn’t snatch you up then they’re all fools,” Margo says in complete seriousness.

And the thing is that Quentin can tell that she means it. 

“No more mystery stops after this right?” Quentin asks.

“This was the final one — unless there’s anywhere you want to go?” Margo says as the salon starts playing a particular song from a broadway musical. One that Quentin only knows because he’s heard Eliot playing it. 

And just like that Quentin knows exactly what his gift to Eliot will be. 

“Actually can we make one final stop?” Quentin says with a mischievous smile. 

“Just lead the way,” Margo says. 

“Wait aren’t you going to pay?”  
“They have my credit card on file already,” Margo tells him and Quentin laughs as they make their way out of the salon. 

* * *

Eliot is bored and tired.

His two favorite people haven’t returned from their trip into the city so he’s stuck with just the Quinns.

Don’t get him wrong, he is fond of the Quinns, especially Alice. She has a biting wit that can match up to his own and he enjoys that in a person. But they’re not Quentin or Margo. 

And sometimes a man just wants to see his favorite people. 

“Stop moping,” Alice says. 

“I’m not moping,” Eliot responds, even though he is totally moping and they both know it. 

“They’ll be back soon,” Alice tells him softly. 

“Who will?” Eliot says trying to act like he doesn’t know who she’s talking about. 

“Nice try,” Alice replies.

“What were they even doing that is taking so long?” Eliot complains.

“Picking out a costume and doing some errands that Margo had to do,” Alice says, Eliot knows there’s more to the story than that but he can’t prove it. 

“I can’t believe you guys went into the city without me — on my birthday,” Eliot says.

“It’s not your birthday yet and you were busy,” Alice tells him.

Eliot has a tendency to use his birthday as a reason for everything and anything in the weeks leading up to the day. Margo jokes that it’s the Scorpio in him and Eliot can’t really disagree with that. 

Finally, the door opens and Eliot gets up from the couch so quickly he almost drops his drink. Which probably would have been bad because Alice was in the splash zone. And she would have definitely hexed him. 

And then Quentin walks in and holy shit he looks incredible. Did he cut his hair? And he’s wearing jeans that actually fit him? This is just _ not fair _ universe. Not fair at all. How is he supposed to breathe now?

“Hey El,” Quentin says smiling at him. 

“You cut your hair,” is the thing that comes out of Eliot’s smile instead of a hello.

Thankfully it seems to amuse Quentin and so he laughs. He loves it when Quentin laughs, especially if it’s Eliot that made him laugh.

“Do you like it?” Quentin asks and he looks so sweet and innocent that Eliot smiles.

“Yeah it uh — it looks really nice Q,” Eliot admits and then Quentin blushes before thanking him. 

Which is another thing that Eliot loves about Quentin. Not that he loves Quentin. Because he doesn’t — they’re just friends. <strike> And Eliot has never fantasized about Quentin’s blush or wondered if it goes all the way down. </strike> <strike> Not at all.</strike>

Anyway, Quentin is more the athletic type. 

(Eliot still remembers walking in on Quentin and his ex making out on the couch in the cottage.) 

(That night had definitely been a revelation for Eliot.)

The point is that he knows Quentin’s type and it’s not Eliot.

“You know I’m here too,” Margo says, and Eliot literally just noticed she was standing next to Quentin the entire time. Wow, he’s a terrible friend.

“Hello to you too Bambi,” Eliot remarks.

“That’s more like it,” Margo says giving him a kiss on the cheek before going to greet her girlfriend.

“So did you choose a costume?” Eliot asks getting closer to Quentin.

“I did,” Quentin says with a smile.

“So what is it?” 

“Good try Waugh — you’re going to have to wait for the party to find out just like everyone else,” Quentin says cheekily.

“But I’m the birthday boy shouldn’t I get an advantage?” Eliot says with a smirk.

“If I told you it would ruin the surprise,” Quentin says using his own words against him and then turns to Margo, “I’m going to put the stuff away.”

And then he leaves the living room and Eliot can’t help but watch him walk away. 

“Do you need a bucket for your drooling?” Margo smirks at him. 

“What?” Eliot asks.

“You’re practically drooling over nerdboy again.”

“I’m not,” Eliot mutters.

Margo looks like she’s going to comment but Alice interjects before she does — Alice knows Eliot and Margo, they’ll start arguing about it if you let them.

“Is everything ready for the party?” Alice asks.

“Everything is perfect, it’s going to be glorious and V sent me the recipe for the cake so I’ll work on that on the day of,” Eliot says.

“I can’t believe you’re baking your own birthday cake,” Margo laughs, only Eliot.

“Well, I want it done right! And the only other person I trust in terms of cooking lives in Boston so that’s not plausible,” Eliot points out.

Eliot loves his friends, they’ll all amazing and incredible and everything. But they are all terrible in the kitchen. Well, Charlie tries and almost always succeeds. Alice is really good with a microwave and certain stove related meals. 

But Margo and Quentin? The dearest people in his heart? Are atrocious in the kitchen. To the point where Eliot basically bans them from entering. The only things Quentin can cook are grilled cheese (although if you ask Eliot that’s not actual food) and eggs. Oh and he makes really good coffee.

But Eliot literally saw him burn water once. 

And Margo is not much better.

So as much as he loves them? They’re not allowed in his kitchen.

Eliot learned the basics of cooking from his grandmother before she died and then he learned the rest when he came to New York. He was a less fashionable version of his fabulous self — his edges hadn’t been smoothed out yet — when Veronica Meadows took him under his wing. She helped him more than he can say — in ways, he doesn’t want to rehash right now. So the rest they say is history.

The point is that cooking relaxes him, so he doesn’t mind baking himself a cake, even on his birthday. 

* * *

The rest of the days passed in a blur and suddenly it was the 30th. Eliot had talked to V already and she wished him a happy birthday. Margo had given him her version of breakfast in bed (thankfully cooked by Charlie Quinn). She hadn’t given him his present yet because that was part of the act. He knows she’ll give it to him tomorrow at the party. 

Both the Quinns had wished him a happy birthday as well. 

The rest of the Physical Cottage bought into the idea he sold that his birthday was on the 31st. 

And then there was the Quentin question. 

He actually has no idea if Quentin knows the truth about his birthday. To be honest? He hasn’t seen Quentin at all this week. He was always running off to different places. He’d feel like Quentin was ignoring him except that every time Quentin saw him he smiled. And according to both Margo and Alice he hadn’t hung out much with them either. 

Which meant that Quentin was probably just busy with school or something. 

The thing is that Eliot misses him. His real birthday is half-done and there’s no sign of his favorite nerd. More than ever he’s glad he decided to bake his own cake because it meant that he could de-stress in that way. Especially because this one needed all of his attention.

This year he’d settled on a Red Velvet cake. Which wasn’t complicated in of itself. The complicated part was the frosting. Every year he tried to do a different Halloween themed frosting. This was one of the more challenging years.

If he manages it, the white frosting would look like a spiderweb. For which he is using two different layers of spiderwebs. Then the crowning achievement would be the red spider on the top. The spider is supposed to be as extensive as the diameter of the cake. 

Right now he’s baked the cake and has all the first layer of frosting ready. He just wants it to set before applying the second layer. 

And then Quentin comes into the kitchen. _ Quentin rarely comes into the kitchen. _

“Q,” Eliot says happily.

“Hey El, are you very busy?” Quentin asks nervously as he strokes the nape of his neck.

“Slightly — I’m frosting the cake. Just another layer of spiderwebs and then I can place the spider,” Eliot explains as Quentin walks towards him.

“This is incredible,” Quentin says with a slack-jaw. 

“It’s no big deal,” Eliot says.

“No really — it’s amazing,” Quentin says placing his hand on Eliot’s arm. 

They stare at each other for a moment before Quentin takes his hand away and blushes. 

“Thanks,” Eliot says honestly, “So what did you need?”

“Nothing that can’t wait,” Quentin replies.

“If you want when I’m done here I can pass by your room?” Eliot asks and Quentin smiles.

“Yeah — that would be good..I’ll see you later?” Quentin asks and Eliot nods before Quentin leaves. 

Okay so maybe Quentin doesn’t know that today is his actual birthday. Why does that make him feel sad? It’s technically his own fault anyway. 

As much as he’d want to, he can’t focus on the Quentin Coldwater of it all — he has a cake to finish. 

* * *

Quentin has had a crazy week. After he’d realized what he was going to give Eliot, he’d spent the rest of the week trying to make it happen. Which was a lot more complicated than he would have originally thought. Thankfully he had some help — but still. 

He just really hopes Eliot likes it. He’s been stressing about that for most of the day (<strike>week</strike>). What if he thinks it’s invasive? Or too much? 

Well, there’s no going back now. 

Now all he needs is for Eliot to finish decorating his cake. And by the way? It’s so unfair that Eliot is so good at all the things. That just makes him all the more attractive to Quentin. Quentin can barely cook after all. 

Eliot will never let him forget that time he accidentally burned water. But in his defense — Eliot had walked into the kitchen shirtless! How was Quentin supposed to not get distracted? You try to be focused on your task with a shirtless Eliot Waugh in front of you — it’s impossible. 

So yeah — he’d burned water.

It’s good that he can’t actually burn a hole in the ground with all the pacing he’s doing. But he’s nervous. He’s so nervous. 

And then there’s a knock on the door. 

It’s Eliot. 

Of course, it’s Eliot — no one else would come to his bedroom at this hour. 

He opens the door with a smile and lets Eliot come inside. It’s go time. 

“How did the cake go?” Quentin wonders.

“I think it looks good but taste-wise you’ll have to tell me tomorrow,” Eliot responds with a shy smile. 

“I’m sure it’s going to be wonderful,” Quentin adds.

“So what was it you needed?” Eliot says sitting down on the bed, it’s something he’s done a million times before. And yet it still affects Quentin. 

Quentin immediately goes red and starts stammering, because of course, he does. 

“So I wanted to uh — give you something... before the party tomorrow,” Quentin says as he goes into the closet and gets a wrapped gift box. 

“You knew?” Eliot asks.

“That your birthday is actually today rather than tomorrow? Of course, I knew — I couldn’t give it to you earlier today because I still needed to fine up some details,” Quentin says sitting down on the bed next to him.

“Happy birthday Eliot,” Quentin says as he hands him the box. 

* * *

Eliot doesn’t know what he was expecting when he offered to go to Quentin’s room but it was not this. 

Of course, Quentin wouldn’t forget his birthday — it’s Quentin. 

But Eliot hadn’t really been expecting a gift either. 

He carefully takes off the bow and then takes care taking off the wrapping paper. He truly wants to cherish this moment. Quentin got him a gift — _ on his actual birthday. _

Quentin looks nervous as he opens the box. And what he finds shocks him even more than the fact that Quentin remembered his birthday. 

He pulls out three framed playbills, they’re for his favorite Broadway shows. 

** _Catch me if you can_ **

** _Wicked_ **

** _& Rent_ **

And they’re signed. 

“Q — what is this?” Eliot asks looking at him, unable to move. 

“I… I wracked my brain trying to think of something that I could give you that you would like. And then I remembered how you told me how much these shows mean to you,” Quentin explains and Eliot is floored once again. 

Quentin really remembered a conversation they had months ago? Quentin had been sad about his dad and he’d had a fight with Julia. It was about something with Fillory, Eliot doesn’t remember what the fight had been about. All he remembers is that Quentin had been sad.

Eliot hated it when Quentin was sad. 

So he’d shared a bit of himself. He’d showed him the box with playbills on the top of his closet. He’d told him how he’d identified with Elphaba’s fear of magic and how her family treated her for being different. How he’d wished to escape his own skin just like Frank Abgnale Jr. and how he was enamored by Fiyero’s philosophy of life. How he’d tried to replicate parts of that in his own life. Eliot told him about how it felt to hear Jonathan Larson’s music and see the lives of characters who resembled him. 

How they all had their own part in saving Eliot Waugh. 

Quentin had smiled at him and told him his own stories about Fillory. How they had captivated him and helped give him something to hold on to. How Fillory had literally saved his life. 

It had been one of the first times that Eliot had seen how strong Quentin truly was. He’d been enraptured by it. And now this.

It must have cost him a fortune. Which he didn’t realize he’d said out loud until Quentin was staring at him. 

“Um.. not really?” Quentin says playing with his hair, “these are actually _ your playbills _from your box in the closet.” 

Wait What? 

Eliot stares at them and sure enough, they are definitely the ones he had. Which means at one point Quentin sneaked into his room, grabbed them and sneaked back out. Eliot is definitely impressed. 

“I figured you’d like that more,” Quentin mutters and Eliot looks at him.

“Then how did you get them signed?” Eliot wonders.

“With a lot of effort, well and V helped me a bit. She knows people who know people or something. Some of the actors have shows going on right now so I made my way to the stage doors… and V got me in contact with people who could get me the rest.”

“But you don’t love crowds,” Eliot says.

“It was worth it,” Quentin says with a smile, “So did you like it?” 

“Q? You’re kidding me, right? I don’t think anyone has ever done anything like this for me,” Eliot mutters, still kind of in shock.

“Well, you’ve done a lot for me since we’ve met so I uh — wanted to repay that.” 

Eliot just stares at the framed playbills once more — now they mean even more. 

Not because they are signed (although that’s still pretty incredible) but because of all the trouble, Quentin went through to get them. 

“Thank you — this is the best gift I’ve gotten,” Eliot says putting the playbills back in the box and putting it on the bed beside him, then grabbing Quentin’s hands and looking directly into his eyes, “I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you in my life Q.” 

“I’m the lucky one,” Quentin says looking at Eliot’s eyes and then he smiles.

“What?” 

“You have frosting in your hair,” Quentin says and he moves closer and with one of his hands, he grabs the piece of frosting. Suddenly he realizes how close he and Eliot are sitting. If he wants to he could easily close the distance between them.

And he wants to. 

He really wants to. 

Eliot is looking at his lips and Quentin thinks that maybe he’ll close the distance. 

Then they hear an alarm and the moment is broken.

Fuck.

“It’s late — I should let you get some sleep,” Eliot says getting up and grabbing his gift. 

“Sleep is important.”

“Yeah and there’s a big day tomorrow,” Eliot says nervously. 

“Happy Birthday again,” Quentin says and Eliot smiles.

“Thank you.”

And then he makes his way out the door. 

One single thought recurring in both of their minds — did that just happen?

* * *

The day of the party had finally arrived and everything was in full swing. The decorations were magical, in more ways than one, the alcohol was flowing and anyone that was anyone was there. 

The man of the hour had yet to make his entrance. 

Quentin had barely seen him today with everything going on. He just hoped he wasn’t avoiding him. He’d been painfully obvious the night before and now Eliot was probably feeling awkward which was exactly what Quentin feared.

Quentin is pretty sure they had almost kissed — and then Eliot couldn’t get out of there fast enough. So Quentin wasn’t going to push it. 

He is going to focus on what Margo told him, maybe he should hook up with someone. Wasn’t that one of the unwritten rules of Halloween after all? 

“Quentin!” Margo says coming into his room in full Elizabeth Swan costume. 

“Hey Margo,” Quentin responds, “You look great!” 

“Thank you I know — when are you going to join the party?” 

“I was putting the finishing touches,” Quentin says as he grabs his blaster and puts it on the holster in his pants. 

“You look like a scoundrel,” Margo says smirking at him. 

“I’m taking that as a compliment,”

“Good because it is,” Margo says and hooks their arms together making their way out of Quentin’s room. 

They walk into the party and everyone turns to look at them. People definitely look shocked which Quentin will admit, is a great feeling. 

And then Alice waves them over to where she’s talking with Kady and Penny. Kady and Penny decided on a couples costume. Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Kady looks great in a suit. Penny is also wearing a suit except his is open to reveal a blue undershirt with a red and yellow S. He’s also wearing glasses and Quentin is reminded of how attractive Penny is.

“Hey babe,” Margo says greeting Alice, “you look sexy.” 

“Thanks — so do you,” Alice remarks and looks at Quentin. 

“You look great Q.”

“Han Solo,” Kady greets with a smile.

“Miss Lane,” Quentin responds.

“The costume is stellar dude,” Penny says.

“Thanks so is yours,” Quentin compliments and then Kady smirks and Margo looks curious.

“What is the smirk about Orloff-Diaz,” Margo asks

“She’s just happy she won the bet,” Penny answers as Kady playfully slaps him.

“Do I even want to know?” Quentin asks.

“Jules and I had a bet going on whether you were going to dress up as a Fillory character or not,” 

“Come on guys — I do have some originality.” 

“And he chose this one himself!” Margo says defending him.

“Hey, I argued in your favor!” Kady exclaims.

“Well thank you for that, where’s Jules anyway?” 

“I think I saw her talking to Todd, she’s the one in the Belle costume,” Kady says.

“Gold or blue and white?” Quentin asks

“Blue and White and she’s carrying a book because she’s a nerd,” Kady says fondly.

“I’ll talk to her later,” Quentin says. 

And then they disperse, he’s pretty sure Margo drags Alice to a corner to make out her, Quentin talks to Julia for a bit, who teases him about his costume. Apparently now she owes Kady a dinner. But she also tells him he looks handsome. And guessing by the looks he’s gotten, that seems to be the consensus. 

Maybe Margo was on to something. But he’s never going to tell her that. It would just go to her head.

He’s talking to Todd — who is in a Flash costume — when it happens. Both the lights and the music turn off and suddenly there’s a spotlight on the staircase. And there he is. Eliot Waugh in all his glory. 

Descending down the stairs like a king. And the <strike>best</strike> worst part? 

He’s in a Dread Pirate Roberts costume.

Now that is just not fair.

Why does the man he likes have to dress up as the character who was Quentin’s sexual awakening? And look so sinfully good? It’s just not fair.

Quentin is vaguely aware that Todd is talking to him but he’s not really paying attention. 

“He looks good doesn’t he?” Margo says coming up to him.

“He always does,” Quentin mutters.

“So why don’t you go talk to him, maybe confess feelings?”  
“He’s not interested, Margo.” 

“Sure he’s not,” Margo says with an incredulous look.

“We almost kissed yesterday and he couldn’t get away fast enough.” 

“Because he’s an idiot Quentin,” Margo says, “He’s an idiot who is terrible at emotions.” 

“Come on, El isn’t one to be afraid of telling someone he wants them — if he liked me he would have said something by now.”

“Eliot doesn’t care about his one-nighters though, and he hasn’t actually hooked up with someone since he stumbled on you and your ex that one time.”

“He wasn’t an ex — wait what?” Quentin says looking at her.

“Q, I love you both but you’re idiots. He’s liked you from the first day. He literally talked my ear off about the cute nerd he’d just met.”

“Really?” Quentin asks, hopeful for the first time in a while.

“Yes really — he’s just not good at admitting he has feelings you know him,” Margo points out. 

And she’s right, Eliot could show you he cares in a number of ways but he’s not good at verbalizing it. The rest of the world thinks Eliot doesn’t care at all but Quentin and Margo know, it’s that sometimes he cares too much. Sure he doesn’t like a lot of people but the few people in his orbit? He loves them deeply.

“What should I do?” 

“Go get your boy!” Margo says actually pushing him.

Quentin walks with his head held high. Trying to call up some of that Han Solo confidence. Well, the fake-confidence because as everyone knows Han Solo was basically just a bisexual disaster who pretended to be suave. 

Which frankly made him more interesting to Quentin.

You can do this Coldwater, it’s just your best friend, dressed as the fictional character you most want to bang. 

Suddenly he is standing in front of him and Eliot looks even better up close. Quentin smiles at him, “Happy Birthday El,”

Eliot it seems is struck mute. He looks Quentin up and down and actually bites his lip. Which okay Quentin is admitting that is really fucking hot. And the fact that it’s Quentin who elicits this response? It is so good for his confidence. 

“You uh — you look great Q,” Eliot finally says. 

“So do you,” Quentin says giving Eliot a very obvious once-over.

“Well the guest of honor has to look his best,” Eliot smirks.

“You definitely achieved that,” Quentin responds, “Hey — uh — can we talk?” 

“Isn’t that what we’re doing now?” Eliot says nonchalantly. 

Shit — this is a mistake. Why did he listen to Margo?

“I —right,” Quentin says nervously running a hand through his hair then he grabs a drink from one of the floating trays and looks down, “I’ll see you later then.”

* * *

Quentin is walking away when Eliot’s brain catches up to him. 

His brain is screaming at him to not be an idiot. Quentin is giving you an opening — don’t run away again. 

“Wait no — don’t go,” Eliot says catching up to Quentin. 

“Why not?” Quentin asks and he looks tired which makes Eliot feel worse. 

“I’m sorry — I’m not good at this,” Eliot says grabbing Quentin’s hand. Quentin stares at the hands and then back at Eliot.

“Good at what?” 

“Talking about things, but I do want to talk. I always want to talk to you Q,” Eliot admits and pulls Quentin towards a more secluded part of the party. 

They sit down facing each other. Eliot knows he should be the brave one and start the conversation. After all he’s the one who ran last night, and almost ran 5 minutes ago.

“I’m sorry I ran last night,” Eliot admits.

“It’s okay — I get it... It was probably awkward for you,” Quentin says trying to play it off.

Is that what Quentin really thought? Shit. Shit Shit Shit. 

“No that’s not it at all,” Eliot says and grabs Quentin’s hand, “Q look at me.” 

Quentin actually does turn to look at him and Eliot takes the mask off so he can look at him more directly. His hair is probably a mess but he doesn’t mind.

“What you did? No one has ever done anything like that before. You took something that I told you in one conversation and made it all the more meaningful. And then you were looking at me with those eyes that make me melt. And I got scared.” 

“What is there to be scared of?” Quentin asks softly.

“That you’ll realize how much of a mess I am?”

“El — I already know that and I like you anyway.”

“I like you too — a lot… more than like,” Eliot admits.

“How much more?” Quentin wonders getting closer to Eliot.

“A lot more,” Eliot says before closing the distance between them, it’s a soft kiss. One he is hoping that shows Quentin how much he truly cares. Quentin kisses him back after a moment and suddenly his hand is pushing Quentin closer. He never wants this moment to end.

They pull apart and rest their foreheads together. 

“Just in case it wasn’t obvious — I am definitely interested. I have been since I met you. I just never thought you’d go for me,” Quentin admits.

“That’s ridiculous, you’re the best person on campus,” Eliot points out and Quentin blushes, “and for the record, I’ve liked you since you stumbled out of the bushes and into my life.”

“Oh really?” Quentin asks with a playful smile.

“Yes really,” Eliot says giving him a small kiss, “Plus you called me a hallucination and that stays with a person.”

“I’m never going to live that down,” Quentin laughs as they both stand up. 

“I love you,” Eliot says.

“I know,” Quentin responds, channeling Han Solo.

“Brat,” Eliot says but his eyes are laughing as he fixes his hair and puts his mask back on. 

“I had to — I would have been out of character otherwise,” Quentin smirks with an innocent look that is anything but innocent, “I love you too by the way.”

“That’s good to know — because I’m not letting you go anytime soon,” Eliot says bringing Quentin into his arms, “After all, this is true love — you think it happens every day?”

Quentin pulls him down for another kiss in response. 

“Let’s go back to the party before they send a search team after us,” Quentin says grabbing Eliot’s hand.

“As you wish,” Eliot says softly. 

As they walk hand in hand to join the rest of their friends. They’ll probably have to endure teasing from Margo and the rest. Eliot might have to do the rounds, it’s his party after all. Then when the party has dispersed and it’s just Quentin, Eliot, the Quinns, Bambi, Penny, Kady, and Julia he’ll cut the cake. 

But for now, he’s walking back holding hands with the boy he loves. 

Life is good. 

**Author's Note:**

> Gabriel is Kate's creation, I just borrowed him for a bit, but Veronica is my of my own making. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it, please review if you liked!


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